This month, George Peckham-Rooney becomes the new Communications Lead of the SLA Embedded Librarians Caucus. Nadine Anderson sat down with George for a chat about his work, what he likes to do for fun outside of work, and his plans for the Caucus.

Nadine Anderson: What is your job title?George Peckham-Rooney: My current title is Data Analyst.

Nadine: Where do you work and how long have you worked there?George: I work for Emory University and have been here since 2015 (albeit across different schools/departments within the university) with my latest role being in the Office of the University Registrar.

Nadine: What are your main job duties? What groups are you embedded in?George:I work within the Office of the University Registrar where I help manage/extract/compile data for our student information system in relation to external and internal reporting needs.

Nadine: What do you love about what you do?George:I love helping people. I work regularly with members throughout the Emory community whose goal is to improve the experience for our students and other constituents. If I can have a small part in that goal then

Nadine: What do you like to do for fun outside of work?George: I have two small children so the majority of my time outside work is spent being a dad though that often includes a great deal of fun (though work too). I spend as much time as I can reading (listening to audiobooks too), and playing board games in a local Dad’s board game group.

Nadine: What is the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?George: I enjoy reading about monetary policy and follow financial podcasts like Marketplace and Planet Money.

Nadine: What are the key things that have made you successful as an embedded librarian?George: I have always thought of librarianship as being a generalist career path (i.e. having a variety of complementary skill sets) and I think being an embedded librarian further emphasizes this flexibility. Being able to be professionally curious, learning new subjects areas/skills, and leveraging your librarian skills in new ways is critical.

Nadine: What will your main priorities be as Convenor/Communications Lead of the SLA Embedded Librarians Caucus?George: My main priority will be to help users connect with the caucus and that they feel a sense of community among the members.

End of interview.

Thank you George!

]]>http://embedded.sla1.org/gprinterview/feed/0892George Peckham-Rooney Taking Over As Caucus Communications Leadhttp://embedded.sla1.org/george-peckham-rooney-taking-over-as-caucus-communications-lead/
http://embedded.sla1.org/george-peckham-rooney-taking-over-as-caucus-communications-lead/#respondThu, 14 Feb 2019 15:11:34 +0000http://embedded.sla1.org/?p=882Please welcome our new Communication Lead of the SLA Embedded Librarians Caucus George Peckham-Rooney, Data Analyst at Emory University. If you look back at the SLA Embedded Twitter Account, the first post is a share and comment from Nadine on a post George made from his personal twitter about their participation as panelists on the first Embedded Librarians Caucus webinar. George focuses on building and employing systems for capturing, analyzing and organizing information. He specializes in building focused taxonomies/ontologies for information retrieval, but has other professional interests that includes user experience design, information retrieval/research and knowledge management. Within that capacity he is adept at analyzing data and developing decision-supporting deliverables with an aptitude for enabling knowledge capture and leveraging it for increased value. He is a strong team player with ability to work independently and has a penchant for finding innovative solutions to problems.

Thank you to Nadine Anderson (University of Michigan-Dearborn) for her many years of service as Co-Convener & Communication Lead of the SLA Embedded Librarians Caucus. Nadine initially volunteered to be the Communications Chair for the caucus and then took on more responsibilities and became Co-Convener as a result. Her responsibilities included: coordinating webinars and conference proposals, panels and outings for the caucus; managing and writing content for this SLA Embedded website and blog; and keeping the SLA Embedded Twitter Account current.

]]>http://embedded.sla1.org/george-peckham-rooney-taking-over-as-caucus-communications-lead/feed/0882Get To Know Nykia Perez Kibler, the new Convenor of the SLA Embedded Librarians Caucushttp://embedded.sla1.org/get-to-know-nykia-perez-kibler-the-new-convenor-of-the-sla-embedded-librarians-caucus/
http://embedded.sla1.org/get-to-know-nykia-perez-kibler-the-new-convenor-of-the-sla-embedded-librarians-caucus/#respondFri, 25 Jan 2019 16:25:40 +0000http://embedded.sla1.org/?p=874 This month, Nykia Perez Kibler becomes the new Convenor of the SLA Embedded Librarians Caucus. Nadine Anderson sat down with Nykia, who chatted with us about her work, what she likes to do for fun outside of work, and her plans for the Caucus.

Nadine Anderson: What is your job title?Nykia Perez Kibler: My current title is Director of Information Management.

Nadine: Where do you work and how long have you worked there?Nykia: I have worked in this role with ever evolving titles and responsibilities at the the University of Pennsylvania’s Population Studies Center since 2001.

Nadine: What are your main job duties? What groups are you embedded in?Nykia: My main contribution is to assist in the facilitation of research and scholarly output by (1) maintaining data about our researchers that can be repurposed for grant applications; (2) providing research assistance in the form of literature searches, proofreading, or fact checking/data gathering for either manuscripts or grant applications; (3) disseminating the results of our researchers scholarly activities (publications, honors, awards, news appearances) via our website, working paper series, social media and tracking publication metrics; and (4) building websites, designing graphics and documentation for conferences, working groups, and research projects.

Nadine: What do you love about what you do?Nykia: It is not possible to be bored because there is always a lot of work to do and it is always varied. I am not sure how I would fair in a position with a narrowly focused role. The variety of needs and skills required to meet the needs of our researchers challenges me to learn new things and to creatively solve problems, which is an ideal environment for me.

Nadine: What do you like to do for fun outside of work?Nykia: This Fall I signed up to become an adult Girl Scout co-leader for my daughter’s troop which has been fun. I have met some interesting people and get to spend more time outside which I need to do more of plus I get to spend quality time with my daughter. Bird watching and visiting public gardens is something I do for fun as well.

Nadine: What is the one thing people would be surprised to learn about you?Nykia: I am an ISA Certified Arborist and co-lead a volunteer based community nonprofit that educates and empowers people to care for the urban environment primarily by planting and caring for street trees.

Nadine: What are the key things that have made you successful as an embedded librarian?Nykia: Trying to keep abreast of the researchers projects and interests of our scholars is helpful for learning about where their research is going and about what services might be useful. Finding ways to accomplish tasks with out of the box solutions when necessary to meet needs or to solve a particular problem. Being a “yes” person and finding your niche and the ways you might be able to add value to a project with minimal effort on the part of the researchers. Flexibility and adaptability have been essential to me and my team and not getting tied to a particular way of doing something or particular services we’ve devised can afford new and useful perspectives to ensure people benefit from our skills. Asking questions and not being afraid to try something different can be helpful as well.

Nadine: What will your main priorities be as Convenor/Communications Lead of the SLA Embedded Librarians Caucus?Nykia: I am hoping to help caucus members get the support they need from SLA and the caucus by enabling programming that will suit their interests and that will ultimately be useful for them with their input and involvement of course.

I’m happy to report that Nykia Perez Kibler will serve as Convenor of the SLA Embedded Librarians Caucus starting in January 2019. Nykia is currently Director of Information Management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Population Studies Center, where she has been a full time special academic and embedded librarian since 2001. She has been a member of the Caucus since 2016, and within SLA she is also active in the Academic Division. Beyond SLA, she’s a member of APLIC (formerly known as the Association for Population/Family Planning/Reproductive Health Libraries and Information Centers – International), and currently serves as its treasurer. Nykia emerged from a process of discussion with several Caucus members who responded to a call for volunteers last summer as the person best positioned to take over leadership at this time. I want to thank everyone who responded to the call, and especially to Nykia for agreeing to take on this responsibility.

I’m writing to update you on the caucus’s planning for the 2019 SLA Conference and invite your participation.

While the search for a new caucus convenor continues, I’ve set the wheels in motion to build on our success at this year’s conference and ensure that we’re included in next year’s program.

Currently, I’m thinking about the following ideas:

Burnout and the Embedded Librarian. Successful embedded librarians generally wind up with more work than they can handle, and during peak periods the workload can really get out of hand. What are some strategies for managing this problem, and making sure that you don’t end up as a victim of your success?

Embedded Librarians Teaching Information / Media Literacy. By virtue of their embedded role, librarians are able to customize their instruction to the needs of different disciplines. What are the similarities and differences of some information literacy curricula across disciplines?

Solo Librarians and Embedded Librarianship. Are the principles of embedded librarianship relevant for solos? When are they, and when aren’t they? How are some solos leveraging the embedded approach to strengthen their role?

The due date for proposals is October 15. So, in the next 2 weeks, please respond to the following:

What’s your reaction to these themes?

What other ideas would you recommend exploring?

Would you be willing to take part as a:

Speaker

Moderator / planner for one program

Conference program planner for the caucus

Thanks! I look forward to your response.

–Dave Shumaker
Caucus Convenor

]]>http://embedded.sla1.org/fall-caucus-update-from-david-shumaker/feed/0833Catch Up With Our “Choose Your Partners Wisely: Strategic Choices for Embedded Librarians” SLA 2018 Conference Presentationhttp://embedded.sla1.org/chooseyourpartners/
http://embedded.sla1.org/chooseyourpartners/#respondTue, 26 Jun 2018 18:15:55 +0000http://embedded.sla1.org/?p=814Did you miss the SLA 2018 Conference Presentation “Choosing Your Partners Wisely: Strategic Choices for Embedded Librarians”? Our panel presentation featured panelists Nadine Anderson (Behavioral Sciences Librarian, University of Michigan-Dearborn), Barbara Kahn-Aitken (Senior Research Analyst, The Coca-Cola Company) and Joel Scheuher (Business Reference Librarian, University of Michigan Ross School of Business, and formerly of General Motors), as well as moderator David Shumaker (Clinical Associate Professor, Catholic University of America). They shared strategies on using political and marketing insights to figure out both where in the organization to concentrate your efforts and which people in your organization you should partner with, so that you can maximize your value and achieve long-lasting success.

If you have follow-up questions about this presentation feel free to contact our panelists at:

Jennifer Martin: jenmartin@email.arizona.edu

Ethel Salonen: ethel.salonen@verizon.net

Many thanks to our speakers Jennifer, Ethel, and Nadine for your work on this panel presentation!

]]>http://embedded.sla1.org/tellyourstory/feed/0806Wednesday, June 13 is Embedded Librarians Day at the SLA Annual Conference!http://embedded.sla1.org/wednesday-june-13-is-embedded-librarians-day-at-the-sla-annual-conference/
http://embedded.sla1.org/wednesday-june-13-is-embedded-librarians-day-at-the-sla-annual-conference/#respondFri, 08 Jun 2018 15:07:30 +0000http://embedded.sla1.org/?p=798The Embedded Librarians Caucus is sponsoring two programs at this year’s SLA Annual Conference, which will be held back to back on our Embedded Librarians Day, Wed., June 13:

10:15-11:30 a.m. (Room 339-340): Choosing Your Partners: Strategic Choices for Successful Librarians. Our speakers will be Nadine Anderson, Behavioral Sciences Librarian. University of Michigan Dearborn; Barbara Kahn-Aitken, Senior Research Analyst, Coca-Cola Corporation; and Joel Scheuher, Business Reference Librarian, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, and formerly at GM. They’ll discuss how to apply market segmentation strategies and political insight to figure out where in the organization to concentrate your efforts so that you can maximize your value and achieve long-lasting success.

I hope you’ll join the conversation with these outstanding speakers. See you in Baltimore!

David Shumaker and Nadine Anderson

]]>http://embedded.sla1.org/wednesday-june-13-is-embedded-librarians-day-at-the-sla-annual-conference/feed/0798Hashtag Pollhttp://embedded.sla1.org/hashtag-poll/
http://embedded.sla1.org/hashtag-poll/#respondMon, 12 Mar 2018 13:29:53 +0000http://embedded.sla.org/?p=784Which hashtag should our group use for social media posts about #embedded #librarianship? Vote on the Twitter poll and add your own ideas in the comments!
#EmbedLibLife
#EmbedEngage
#OutsideLibWalls
#EmbeddedLib (good ol’ standard!)
]]>http://embedded.sla1.org/hashtag-poll/feed/0784Get to Know….Brian McCann and His Promotional Posters and Strategies for Black & Veatchhttp://embedded.sla1.org/get-to-know-brian-mccann-and-his-promotional-posters-and-strategies-for-black-veatch/
http://embedded.sla1.org/get-to-know-brian-mccann-and-his-promotional-posters-and-strategies-for-black-veatch/#respondFri, 05 Jan 2018 15:27:02 +0000http://embedded.sla.org/?p=774One of the most popular presentations at the SLA 2017 Annual Conference was co-presented by Brian McCann and Eryn Campbell: They Don’t Know We’re Here: Promoting Your Library and Performing In-House Outreach. Brian McCann generously shared some of the promotional materials he uses at Black & Veatch with the Embedded Librarians Caucus, and chatted with us about his promotional strategies.

library resources. He passes it out the flyer and shares a pdf version on the company intranet and other internal locations.

Interview with Brian McCann:

Embedded Librarians Caucus: What is your job title?

Brian McCann: Just Librarian. There are only four of us so we don’t use specialized titles.

ELC: Where do you work and how long have you worked there?

BM: I’m entering my 4th year at Black & Veatch, an engineering firm that works with infrastructure projects like power, water treatment, and telecom. We have about 12,000 employees and 100 offices around the world.

ELC: What are your main job duties?

BM: I’m sort of the tech and communications guy at our library. I redesigned and maintain our intranet site on SharePoint, standardize written messages and branding, monitor user experience, generate usage reports, create promotional material and ‘pathfinder’ type things, share on the internal social media platform, and try to generally keep a finger on the pulse of the engineering and library industries.

ELC: What made you decide to use the promotional posters?

BM: Lots of studies show how receptive people are to visual information. We used worded posts on our company’s intranet and our internal social media platform, too, but I wanted to make sure we had something visual that our people could anchor to. In the case of the Spotlight flyers, it helps to have something to physically put into people’s hands, or that they can print out and share with a colleague if they need to. I modified the Spotlight flyer into a table tent version, too, that we place on cafeteria tables and in the break rooms.

ELC: Where did you put up and post these posters? Did you have to get anyone’s permission?

BM: Our promotion of Mango became the template for a new program for us, which we call Spotlight. Every month we have a different one of our vendors or databases send a rep or two over here with goodies to put on a basic exhibition-type table in our cafeteria and also do a webinar with us that people can tune in for or watch a recording of later. That first time with Mango, I had the poster at the library entrance for 2 weeks in advance to notify foot traffic. We moved it to the exhibition table on the day of the event. The only permission we needed to get was for an easel to hold the poster during our event, but we included that with our request for a table to use. As always, the maintenance crew is your friend!

It seemed a shame to waste the poster after the event was finished, so it now hangs behind my desk and adds a degree of flare to the library.

ELC: What impact have these posters had?

BM: They drew a lot of attention for our event and, as we continue to use and save new ones, they provide visual touchstones for our users to see what sort of resources we have available.

ELC: What advice would you give to new librarians?

BM: Be bold and make as many contacts as you can right from the start. I recommend “Coffee Lunch Coffee” by Alana Muller as an intro to making a network. As for promotions, think outside the box. I work for an engineering firm so the library hosts an open house with coffee and donuts during National Engineers Week (which is totally a thing). Use “Chase’s Calendar of Events” (from your public library) to find holidays and weird events that might resonate with your users. It will show that you follow trends and get you into their mindset as something other than just a book room.